Daughter Of The Sun
by alyth3cat
Summary: Delilah Eden Newlin knew her Father and Brother weren't following the rules in their "war" against vampires, but she had no idea how far they had been willing to take it. Rated M for future violence, gore, and sexual content.
1. New Beginnings

_Authors Note:_

_This is the first fanfiction I have written and welcome all criticism and response this may generate. This has been based off the television series, so book readers I apologize. The concept of True Blood and the Newlin family do not belong to me. I take no credit. Thank you to everyone that took the time and chance to read!_

Delilah Eden Newlin hadn't really known what to expect when she had decided to run to Las Vegas, but she could never have imagined the strip; not in her wildest dreams. It was an oasis of life in the empty heartless dessert. Buildings sprang from the ground towards the sky and each one was decked out in neon flashing lights. Everywhere you looked was another hotel or casino, wedding chapel, strip club, even the McDonalds was flashy. The Eiffel Tower soared above the buildings, and she could spot the great Sphinx of Egypt, Delilah felt as if she was seeing the whole world in just the blink of an eye.

Suddenly Delilah relaxed for the first time since she had begun her journey a week ago. Her brother would certainly never be able to find her here, and certainly there were other people in this massive city that held rare abilities just like her. Looking around at all the magicians' advertisements she knew her thoughts to be true. Maybe, just maybe, she could be normal and not a freak hidden from all humanity; especially with Vampires as the main focus these days.

Vampires coming out of the coffin had been both a blessing and a curse for Delilah's family. They had brought her father and brother into the spot light, creating more wealth and power than they ever imagined, but it had also been her father and mother's death. Her brother Steve had only given her the bare details, stating that it was a vampire assignation. Due to the views of the Church her father had quickly gained enemies.

Sometimes Delilah had trouble believing anything her brother had told her, but this time it had made sense and she couldn't think of any other reason someone would want to harm her father.

Suddenly the GPS cut into her thoughts, "Turn left in 200 feet; turn left." Delilah was very happy she had spent the extra money for the feature; there was no way she could have found the rental place in all the flashing lights. She parked the car and walked inside.

The office was small and rather cramped, with advertisements pasted on all the walls offering various deals and automobiles. Delilah had just begun studying an offer for nightly service designed for the convenience of their vampiric customers when a young man dressed in a rather cheep set of trousers and button up rushed over.

"So sorry ma'am for the wait, how may I help you?" He was smiling sincerely enough, but his eyes kept darting around the room and he was rocking from side to side in what seemed an attempt at standing still. His obvious discomfort was putting her on edge.

"I need to return my car--"

"Oh I can help you with that!" And with an amount of energy only reserved for two year olds hurried out with his clip board to her car and began the inspection. By the time Delilah had caught up with him he was almost finished.

"Ms. Eden, ok I see you filled up the gas tank, and there is no obvious damage to the car so if you follow me inside we can get you all wrapped up!" With this he smiled at her again. His energy was really beginning to make her uncomfortable.

"How did you get my name?" She couldn't remember having gotten the chance to introduce herself earlier in the office.

"The license plate numbers, they are all stored in our system, I just run them and it pulls up all the information on the driver we've lent it to. In this case you Ms. Eden. Your name is Lily Eden correct?" His face seemed contorted in confusion as he wondered why it mattered so much. If he only knew…

"Oh… yes of course. I was just curious! Technology these days! " Delilah once again was thankful to her mother for helping establish a new name for her. All this technology would have made it impossible to disappear without an alias. And she quickened her pace to keep up with her over energetic clerk back inside.

When she had finished up, the clerk had offered the names and locations of some nicely priced hotels for the night. A bed and darkness sounded extremely ideal at the moment. She wanted time alone with her thoughts.

The room was small and cozy. The paintings on the wall were of various scenes around the city and the walls were covered in some old floral pattern you find on your grandmother's curtains. The window opened into a view of other rooms, but she was grateful that it faced away from the never ending flashing lights. There was a small table by the door and a microwave on the counter she assumed was supposed to act as a kitchen. The bathroom was small with a standing shower and a toilet close enough to the sink, she wasn't entirely sure she would need to stand to wash her hands.

She didn't have many things with her so unpacking was rather useless. Delilah had the pair of clothes she was in and a spare set, the cash from her account, some pictures from her room, and her violin. Not much to start a new life with, but at least she was free to make her own decisions. She felt incredibly dirty as she remembered the last time she'd been able to shower was three days ago and quickly jumped in the shower. She let the hot water run over her long dark hair and cramped muscles. Delilah was extremely pale and suddenly wondered if the clerk had been nervous because he mistook her for a vampire. When she had finished, Delilah wrapped one of the motel towels around her and lay down on the bed.

The plan of escape had originally been planned to include both her mother and her, but the assignation had changed that.

Delilah looked over at the newspaper sitting on the small table and willed it to come to her. It lifted into the air and floated over to gently rest in her lap. She started searching through the classifieds. Her father had absolutely hated Delilah for her gift and abilities. _How could God do this to me?_ He would always repeat in her presence. Reverend Theodore Newlin was too good and holy to have a telekinetic daughter; his solution was locking her in the basement until the world forgot she existed.

From that moment on her only human contact was her mother and at times her brother Steven. Delilah's name was not to be mentioned in public nor was she to be referenced towards in conversations. It didn't take long for her to become the forgotten daughter of the Fellowship of the Sun.

Her mother in attempts to atone for his actions had smothered her with affection. She would often sneak gifts or books down to her room. Eventually her mother had realized Delilah's love for music and provided everything a person would need to learn. Over time she had become masters of the piano, violin, cello, harmonica, harp, saxophone, drums, guitar, and any other instrument she could get her hands on. The singing had come naturally to her as well and her mother had arranged for a private tutor. The private tutor was allowed only under the deception that Delilah was a distant cousin.

The thoughts of her mother made Delilah feel so incredibly alone in this huge world and silent tears began to stream down her cheeks. The grief of her mother's death pushed through the excitement she'd been hiding it in on the journey over. She could still feel the warm embraces, see her mother's brown eyes light up from a joke that was told, and smell her perfume of jasmine. She could hear the excitement in her whispers as they planned their getaway. Delilah knew that when her mother had made the decision to escape and disappear Rev Newlin had done something unforgivable. She rolled over and curled up for sleep wondering if the screams she'd heard at night were the reason the vampires had attacked. The search through the classifieds forgotten in her dreams.


	2. Silver Chains

_Author's Note:_

_This is a quick chapter, but for a reason. I will do my best to make sure I keep the chapters coming so you don't wait too long. Thank you again for support and I look forward to all reviews whether they be nice or mean. Again… the concept and characters do not belong to me; I take no credit._

_Enjoy!_

Noah knew something was wrong the moment his senses awakened. His sensitive ears could hear the strong heartbeats of several men surrounding his coffin and the hurried whispers of desperation.

"Quick before the blood sucker starts moving around." A strong male voice harshly whispered.

The coffin shifted and then hoisted into the air and started rocking as it began to travel with the rhythm of steady feet. These men were obviously skilled to have discovered his hiding spot, but they had made one fatal mistake, they stayed after dark.

Noah slammed his weight into the top of his coffin looking forward to his free meal, but the coffin lid didn't budge. Then he could smell it. Silver. The aroma burned his nostrils and throat. That single breath had lit his lungs on fire as if someone had pressed cigarettes against their lining.

"Told you," sprang from the lips of from the same male voice.

"There is enough silver wrapped around here to stop Dracula. Stop being a pussy," snarled back another male voice.

Several thoughts passed through Noah's mind, _who were these people, where were they taking him, why was HE taken, and who was the traitor in their midst?_ Noah settled silently back into his coffin and did the one thing vampires were excellent at; he waited. _They would pay dearly for this._

Steve Newlin felt like a kid at Christmas when he received the text message confirming that his small army had captured yet another vampire for him. This time it was older than the last one; much older than the last one.

He would surely enjoy watching it writhe in pain as he learned their deepest and darkest secrets of that disgusting race, no abomination. Their kind didn't deserve the reference of humanity. They were an affliction on this Earth. The others he had captured had died much too quickly to learn much information from so the older vampires made more sense.

Just as his thoughts started turning to ideas of torture and glee his phone rang.

"Yes."

"Sir we have a lead on your sister." It was Sydney.

"And?"

"I found an auto rental store who says they've seen her. She rented a car and returned it in Las Vegas. They wouldn't give me the name she used. I didn't think you wanted me to cause a scene so close to base." His voice was always devoid of emotion and so monotone.

"Las Vegas. Good. The new package arrived. She will have to wait. And Sydney?"

"Yes Sir."

"She is not my sister. She is an enemy. Don't let me hear you say that again. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir."

With that Steve hung up the phone and started getting ready for the arrival of his 'guest'.


	3. A Piece of Pie

_Author's Note:_

_Thank you all for being patient with me while I took so long getting this chapter out. I really appreciate it! I know there are no excuses, but with getting engaged, the school semester starting, and work out of control. I had lost track of time. And thank you all that sent me reviews I really appreciate the encouragement and I hope to meet your expectations! I responded to each of you individually and hope that those messages were received._

_Again! True Blood or its characters do not belong to me, they never have, and they most certainly never will!_

_Hope you enjoy!_

The application in front of Delilah was a foreign object. She had never held a job and she certainly had never filled out one of these. Even if she had ever been allowed to leave the basement and see the light of day; she wouldn't have been able to use that history anyway. The name, date of birth, and social security number had been simple enough; they were on the cards her mother had provided with her new identity. _That woman continues to look after me even from above. _The familiar lump began to build in the back of her throat like always when she thought about her mother. An option to choose between Human or Vampire had certainly thrown her off but was easy enough to answer. Then the school history and job history questions began, they wanted references, emergency contacts, past residences, and even driving record history; the need for information was endless.

Obviously these questions couldn't be answered by Delilah and she panicked briefly at the notion of not being able to find a job. She had never attended a school and hoped 'home schooled' would suffice. The other questions she would have to leave blank. The secretary at the front desk looked at her oddly, "Do you need another pen?"

"No, actually, I'm finished." Delilah stated quietly.

"Oh. Well I'm sorry but without this other information we won't be able to employ you." And with that she dumped the application in the trash and went back to her computer screen. It had suddenly become more important than the trash in front of her at the counter.

Without another word Delilah walked back out onto the streets. She wasn't necessarily worried about starving, the account her mother had created in secret had grown rather large over the years. Even after signing a lease, purchasing some clothes, and other necessities. Something would turn up in a couple of days; she just had to keep faith and she silently threw up a prayer. Hopefully someone was listening.

The heat rose off the streets in visible waves as Delilah made her way across with her shoes sticking to the asphalt. The climate change was definitely something she would have to get used to. Even in the shade Lily felt she might melt.

Every business she entered was a mix of the same responses from the first try, but in the end they were rejections. She had been able to convince a couple secretaries and managers to at least consider an interview. But she didn't think there was much hope. It had only been 3 days though, Delilah was determined not to give up hope. God would help her.

The next business on her radar was a diner called Kiss and Die-ner, a 24 hour restaurant. The name made her rather nervous; Delilah had never met a vampire, let alone ever worked with one.

From the moment vampires had stepped out of the coffin, her father had been quick to fill her and Steve's minds with horror stories. Delilah had always disregarded those stories as ignorance, the same ignorance that had convinced him that his own daughter was demonic. Although she still couldn't help the chill of fear that ran down her spine as she entered the establishment.

The first thing she noticed was all the chrome. Everything was shiny and looked like a cookie cutter diner from the 50's complete with a juke-box in the corner. Delilah was beginning to wonder where the Vampire play on words came in when she noticed all the signs on the walls. Everywhere she looked was advertisements about vampires, the edges of the tables had fangs, and the ketchup bottles had fangs. It was obviously a sore attempt to attract much needed customers; the place was deserted except for an older looking waitress who was busy wiping down a table at the far end of the restaurant.

The bells on the door jingled as it swung shut behind her grabbing the attention of the waitress. She squinted slightly against the glare then placed a rather fake smile across her lips. "Sit anywhere you like!" she shouted down the tables.

"Actually, I was wondering if you were hiring." Delilah hoped her voiced hadn't sounded nearly as pathetic as she felt.

The woman's smile faded into a more contemplative expression as considered her answer. "Well no actually we aren't hiring. There just isn't enough business to warrant it, even if I did want a vacation now and then. But shush don't tell Harry that. He believes us women can work till we drop and damn if he ain't proven it." She had finished up her table and started walking towards Delilah giving her the up-down look over. "Tell you what, sit down, have a piece of pie, on me of course, and we'll see what we can fix up for you."

Delilah was touched, that was the most positive response she had received since her arrival. Gladly she sat down at a table. "Thank you so much I really appreciate this. You don't have to pay for it, I would be more than happy to pay for it myself."

"Non-Sense the pie would go to waste anyways seeing as no one is ordering. Besides you look like you could use it." She disappeared around the back and came back out a couple minutes later with warm apple pie and a scoop of ice cream. It looked marvelous.

"Now we aren't hiring here, but I heard that there is a new casino opening on the strip. Heard it is quite the sight. All decked out for the vampires. They are advertising protected glass so those vamps can gamble during the day like the rest of humanity. I'm sure they have plenty of openings there. I think the name is Knight Embraces. So where you from?"

The question caught Delilah off guard and she paused with the fork full of pie in her mouth, "I'm from out east." She hadn't thought to put together an alibi location and was regretting that lack of planning.

"Oh, I understand. Lots of people come to Vegas to get lost and get rich. I'll just leave you to your pie." She smiled sweetly and sauntered off to wipe down another table.

The warm apple pie melted in her mouth warming her to the core. It reminded her of the quiet moments at home when it was just her mother and her….

_De sweetie, why don't you come upstairs and have a piece of pie with your brother and me? Her mother's green eyes were always smiling and warm and she wondered if her green eyes looked that pretty. _

"_Is daddy home?" her small timid voice asked._

"_No love, just us. It's ok. I promise." And her mother shined that beautiful smile at her and reached her hand out. This was the way Delilah imagined the angels she read about in the bible. These were the moments that Delilah waited for. When Daddy wasn't home._

_Just as De's little hands clasped tightly around her mother's the front door slammed shut so hard Delilah thought she'd heard a shattering of glass._

"_Sheryl!" The booming voice of her father roared. Her mother's eyes widened with fear as she turned to meet him, letting Delilah's tiny hand fall from touch. His footfalls were heavy and quick and he rounded the corner to the basement in no time at all slapping her mom across the check. _

"_You know better than to disobey me in matters when it comes to … to… that thing in our basement! She does not deserve to eat at the table like the rest of us Christians do! I will not allow you to defile my home any further. Am I understood!?" He towered over her mother making his dominance vivid to everyone one around. _

_All she could do was nod her head silently in defeat. Behind her mother's back Delilah could see Steve standing there, a sick twisted smile on his face. He had called their dad and tattled on the moment. Steve suddenly turned to Delilah and stuck his tongue out. It was then that Delilah realized she would never have another moment in the open with her mother again. _

Delilah snapped back to reality and shook her head out of the memories and took some change out of her pocket. She left a 10 on the table and hoped that at least the waitress would be able to pocket it and walked out the door.

She found the new casino not much time afterwards. The incredibly shiny black glass made it stand out from the rest of building during the day. The building had an Arabic feel with its rounded domes and open balconies. The building looked as if it had been made of glass completely and made a fairy tale affect. It looked like a black glass figurine straight out of the Aladdin books her mother had read to her as a child and it looked incredibly fragile and yet very intimidating. Delilah wondered what sorts of freedom vampires must feel to be able to look out at the sun once more after years, even centuries of darkness. She had an idea.


	4. The Pits

_Author's Note:_

_Sorry about the delay. I am attempting to make the chapters longer and hopefully more enjoyable. Thank you for bearing with me._

_Chapters 1 and 3 have been re-posted. I felt something was missing, and I still haven't really put my finger on it, so if you have any input please don't hesitate. Thank you again to all those that reviewed I appreciate the time you've taken. :D Also I've been debating posting playlists with each chapter to sort of let you see what I was listening too and what inspired each chapter. Yay or nay? _

_I do not own True Blood or any of True Blood's Characters. I have never owned them and I most positively never will. I'm just lingering in the shadows._

_Enjoy….._

Steve watched from atop the altar's platform as they wheeled in the shiny black coffin wrapped in silver chains. He felt confident and secure. God was on his side, that he still stood with in this sanctuary was proof of that. His father's legacy was proof of that. God agreed with his decisions still. Oh so he though. He couldn't hide the gleeful smile on his chubby features as the coffin neared.

From previous experiments they knew the cross would have no affect on vampires, nor would holy water, or garlic. So far only silver was strong enough to restrain them, and he did so enjoy watching the pain it caused them.

His men began to roll the coffin on a dolly towards him and propped the coffin up for his view. The lid had been removed earlier and silver chains and cuffs had been fastened around the vampire's neck, wrists, and ankles and then bolted to the coffin. The vampire appeared to be in his mid 20's, but Steve was no fool.

Slowly Steve descended the stairs of the altar to stand over the Vampire. Recognition came swiftly into the creatures sapphire blue eyes and he hissed extending his fangs like the monsters from the horror films. As Steve looked into the deep sapphire eyes of his enemy, he had to repress a chill of fear in his spine. The creature's gaze was steady, threatening, and unwavering promising pain. All the other vampires that had been brought to him in this condition were already writhing in pain and begging. Steve could see the seared flesh beneath the silver, but it didn't seem to register. It was something he hadn't been expecting and that angered Steve the rage suppressed the doubt. He hated surprises, especially when they weren't beneficial.

"Welcome to the fellowship of the sun." He stated rather smugly after he composed himself, and swept his hand behind him to the massive cross that over looked them. "You have two choices during your stay here with us. You could either tell me all of your species' secrets and die swiftly or be tortured for them. Either way I will learn what I need to know to protect my flock." Steve settled his features into what he hoped looked like a concerned trustworthy friend, "I don't want to have to cause unnecessary pain, by nature I am a very peaceful person." And he glanced around to his men who all immediately nodded their heads in agreement. "But as they say the most dangerous place in the world is between a mother and her child. Your existence is a threat to my children, my lambs. Now, please answer what is your choice?"

Oh how Steve hoped he would choose torture. He was definitely going to enjoy this. Suddenly he was inspired. He knew exactly what he was going to do with his sister when he got his hands on that wretched girl. The twisted thoughts brought a rather evil smile to his face lighting his features in a cold unfeeling way. The undead creature trapped in his presence seemed to study him with his threatening gaze and settled back into his coffin. He was choosing silence.

The coffin continued to jostle as it was carried down a rather steep set of stairs and each shift in movement brought new waves of pain through the silver chains. Noah was too full of rage and betrayal to pay much attention to searing flesh and sapping strength. _Who had betrayed him? _Only one other being had known where his resting place was his sheriff.

The temperature suddenly shifted down a couple degrees and the air became damp and moist. He could smell the dirt and insects surrounding him. The stairs had apparently led them to an underground tunnel that was slowly sloping upwards. This was certainly getting more interesting.

Noah wasn't too terribly worried about the torture to come; these amateurs certainly weren't going to be able to produce the pain and anguish he's suffered at the hands of the Papal Inquisition of the 13th Century. He focused more on revenge of his captures and sheriff and he focused on how they planned to contain him.

"For a dead man he sure is a fat-ass." One of the goons hissed, Noah could hear how his heart was pumping with the extra weight of the coffin. "Do you think Rev. Newlin will let us steak him later? I've always wanted to see if they really explode." The voice came from a young man that couldn't have been a day over his 20th year and the innocence was completely evident there. He didn't know the horror behind what he was asking, or the anguish a soul felt after taking a life.

"The Reverend will do what is best." The answering voice was definitely older and rang with authority. Some of the other young men began to voice their fantasies of murdering vampires and what they thought would be the outcome. Noah let out a low growl from deep inside his throat and they all silenced rather quickly. Humans believed they had evolved into more civilized creatures through history, but the reality was nothing had changed. Their technology had surpassed anyone's imagination, but that intelligence had not given humanity, instead it had blinded them and created arrogant fools with fancy tools. Their foolery was proven once again by their undying faith in a complete psychopath. Not for the first time, Noah wished for the days when his kind was still hidden in myth and lore.

The group finally entered through a final door and out into the open. The large starry sky was an open relief to Noah, filling him with a sense of hope and sadness. He could remember when these same stars twinkled blue and purple in their new stages in life and could even remember the days a couple had been discovered. Now they showed white with age. Even the stars died. The coffin jostled violently as it was placed, or rather, dropped to the ground. Noah let a fierce snarl erupt from deep with in his throat. The smell of fear rolled off a couple of the younger men.

One of the goons was ordered to attach a silver chain between Noah's wrists and a separate chain to the silver brace around his neck. The second chain was roughly 8 feet long and made Noah feel rather like a dog on a leash. Another snarl found its way out as Noah was roughly pulled from the coffin and dragged over to a stone ledge before he was roughly kicked over the edge. The restraining weight of the silver on his limbs prevented Noah from being able to land on his feet and after the 20 foot drop he landed hard on his side. His left arm was shattered, three of this lower vertebra and most of his ribs were broken; one had managed to puncture his left lung and it was slowly filing with blood. The pain in his face told him he had broken bones there too. There was probably internal damage as well. If he were human he would have died on impact, but instead he was going to sit and heal… slowly. The silver sapping his strength would lengthen the process more than necessary. Noah would need to feed very soon.

Noah could hear the heartbeat of one the men very close to him and the sound of the chain-leash being attached to something. He couldn't summon the strength to turn and observe. He could smell another presence and it was definitely vampire. Noah slipped into a deep sleep and attempted to heal faster.

Somewhere around 2 AM Noah could finally begin to move again. His ribs were still broken, but the lung had healed, as had his back and arm. Moving with silver attached to your limbs was like trying to move mountains. It took extreme effort and strength. Most vampires were unable to move at all once a thin necklace of silver was laced over them. Over time it took more and more silver to obstruct a vampire. Each movement chaffed the silver against his skin searing already raw flesh.

On all fours Noah was finally able to reach the wall ledge and take a rest. Looking around he noticed the hole he had been dropped into was about 15 feet wide and had a stone ledge about 6 to 7 feet wide surrounding the opening of the pit. There was a silver net crossed over the hole's opening preventing any escape. Noah was rather impressed by the ingenuity in this dungeon. The sun would pass overhead and the only protection would be the ledge and its shade, which would constantly move. There would be no sleeping during the day, only at night. This routine would continuously sap more strength from any vampire keeping them tame. His chain-leash was attached to a large steel ring in the center of the dungeon along with two others.

One chain led to a pile of dried gore and slush, the evidence of a vampire's death. The other chain was attached to another vampire who still appeared to be "existing" since alive wasn't the proper term. The vampire was nude and covered in dried blood and grim. His eye sockets seemed sunken and hollow fresh blood was running from beneath his silver shackles. The pale skin was a ghostly contrast to the dark shadows behind him and his head had been shaved. When he finally opened his red rimmed eyes and glanced at Noah, he moved only his eyes and spoke, "Welcome to the closest thing to hell we will ever see on Earth." His voice was soft and extremely too weak. Noah tried to sleep the sun would be here all too sun and the trails would begin.

"Sydney!" Steve shrieked from his office. The hulking figure of the aged soldier came through the door immediately and stood at attention.

"Yes sir!"

"At ease my friend! I need a favor." He purred.

"Anything sir."

"Go to Las Vegas and track her down. I finally figured how she will be of use to me."

"Aye Aye!" Sydney turned to leave and paused. He looked over his soldier, "Permission to speak?"

"Granted of course! I don't know why you insist on these military formalities when you are alone with me." Secretly Steve rather enjoyed the power trip he received from the attention.

"What would you like me to do with the bloodsucker?"

"Let him rot in your absence. I want him to starve. It's quite crucial to my plan for my dear Delilah."

The two shared a sick twisted smile with each other as the images filled their head. "Aye aye!"


	5. Amazing Grace

_Author's Note:_

_Playlist:_

_Amazing Grace—Elvis Presley_

_Need to Feel – Soil_

_Feeling Good – Michael Buble _

_Boston – Augustana_

_Nevermore – Paul Schwartz_

_Hopefully you've been enjoying the longer chapters! I'm sorry about the length of time in between updates. I am doing my best! But there are no excuses. I shall continue to try harder. Thank you for all of your patience, support, and reviews. I would like to mention that I do not own True Blood or its Concepts and Evil People (Newlins). Please continue to review I really like the feed back whether it's criticism or not. And since no one answered my question about playlists I added it anyway._

Jazeria tapped her long manicured nails on the long glossy conference table in front of her, a look of total boredom on her fierce features, as she waited on her new possible employees. Her long, lush, wavy brunette hair was pulled back in a maze of corporate twists and swirls. Her shapely olive skinned calves were crossed beneath the table and she absently played with her red stilettos by waving her foot back and forth at an inhuman speed.

The sunlight filtered through the specialized glass sprinkling rainbows through out the room. Jazeria believed that was probably the greatest accomplishment in her existence, besides Halden, her only love. Just as his name flittered through her thoughts he appeared. His steps too graceful and quiet for a man with a bulky 6'7'' frame. The perfectly tailored navy blue suit and red silk tie only seemed to accentuate his extreme build and piercing blue eyes. His clean shaven head shone with the afternoon sun and as always Jazeria was left breathless with the strong emotions he seemed to build with in her. Halden stood behind her and gently kneaded her shoulders with his large strong hands. Jazeria sighed with pleasure and leaned into his hard figure and absorbed some of his endless strength.

Being awake during the day greatly strained Jazeria's energies, but the pure joy that she gained from being able to gaze upon that single burning orb in the sky was worth it. Not to mention the way she was able to make her competitors squirm at the sight of her standing whole in the sun. It was a delightful experience all the way around.

The clumsy sound of humans and their beating hearts approached the doorway to the conference room and Halden placed an endearing kiss to the top of her head and retreated to the back right corner of the room. To all outward appearances Halden was strictly her vampire body guard and longtime friend. Their passionate love life was kept behind closed doors. Jazeria had been Sherriff of the Las Vegas territory for over a century now and they both felt it was better if no one could exploit their feelings for each other. It was an exhausting pretense but a necessary one.

Mathew, one of her many human employees, paused outside the door and quickly explained to the group of people with him that they were meeting the owner of the casino to make the final decision of who should be the new lounge singer. Jazeria knew her procedure of meeting every new possible employee in her establishment was slightly unorthodox in a casino of this size, but it was a procedure that was to be followed to a tee. Jazeria took pride in personally knowing every one of her employees and didn't follow the belief the rest of her species did that humans were worthless cattle. She considered her employees to be an extended family of sorts and carefully chose any person she allowed into that family. Her vampiric subjects would never know that essence of her soul, if she still had one.

Mathew sashayed flamboyantly into the room. His outfit today consisted of white washed skin tight jeans and a pink button up with a thin black scarf draped over his shoulders. Not one of his bleach blonde strands was out of place and Jazeria suspected that he was wearing lip gloss by the sheen they had. His homosexuality had certainly amused Jazeria when she hired him as her staff manager and she had to hide the smile that threatened to tug at her full lips.

Trailing behind him were three females and a male. Jazeria quickly disregarded the male; he wasn't nearly good looking enough for what she wanted. This was show business. His chalky pitted face and muffin top would not be attractive on her stage. He must have a phenomenal voice for Mathew to have risked bringing him here. The human scents assaulted her senses, one of the females was a heroine user by her toxic and stale scent heavily covered with perfume, the rancidness made her want to gag. She would be of no use too. That left only two women. Her jade green eyes studied her remaining options; one was about 5'10'', a good height, with golden blonde hair … but brown eyes. Her features were very soft and rather unremarkable, but still she was pretty. The final female stood rather quietly, one arm crossed over her ample chest in a defensive manner. Her dark brown hair was full of life with wild waves and curls and was a stark contrast against her pale skin. The skin was unnaturally pale and Jazeria wondered if she might be a sickly human her scent hadn't suggested anything. In fact her scent was the most pure of the humans before her. The young female had cat green eyes that almost mirrored her own and realized as she studied her they probably shared some heritage; this girl definitely had some Israeli blood in her. Her features were the perfect combination of hard and soft to create a rather exotic beauty. The girl's eyes were wide with fear, excitement, and wonder. She had never seen a vampire before. Odd.

"Mathew. The male and the heroine user can leave. They are useless." Jazeria looked down at her perfectly manicured nails and paid them not an once of her attention.

Mathew turned and shoed them with his hands, "You know who you are. Bye-bye now."

"You," Jazeria motioned with her head at exotic beauty, "You've never seen a vampire." She stated. "Are you scared?" And with this question she turned her head and bore into the girls eyes. Her body tensed as she realized she was being addressed and then her eyes opened even wider with shock. Her eyes instantly went to the floor and she bit onto her bottom lip as she seemed to maul something over. Suddenly her head came up with a fierce sense of determination in her eyes, she even straightened her posture. She was certainly curious.

"Yes. But I am not afraid of you." Her voice was soft yet certain and rather sings song. Yes this girl could sing and judging by her hands she was also quite the musician. The answer came as a rather pleasant surprise… it was honest. Jazeria rushed the girl, to humans it would seem she had just simply appeared in front of her, "And why is that?" Again Jazeria bore down on her with her eyes.

The poor girl had begun trembling. "Because I feel I can relate with you more than I have ever with humanity." That simple admission had Jazeria laughing.

"You believe you relate with us? The cold undead? You certainly are pale, but obviously daft as well. Matthew I believe I'm finished with her." Jazeria continued to chuckle as she walked back to her chair at the end of the room. I guess you could still be surprised after millennium of existence… what was that human saying…_And I thought I had seen it all…_ yes that was it. The saying was rather fitting for the moment.

"Wait." Jazeria thought she heard a ring of desperation in that lovely voice and turned to look at her.

"I feel I relate with you because I too have only seen the sunlight through darkened glass and my existence has been unknown to the rest of the human race for most of my life. I have been hated and loathed for parts of me that were not of my making. I fear you because I know that I should. But I am not afraid because I understand." Tears had brimmed in her cat green eyes and Jazeria knew there had been no lie. Definitely interesting.

Delilah could not fathom an explanation as to why she had suddenly decided to be so honest. Maybe it was all the slammed doors in her face; maybe it was the desperation for acceptance; or maybe it was because she had never fought for anything in her life. Whatever the reason was the words had come spilling forth and the tears had started rolling down her checks.

The breathtakingly beautiful vampire before her just stared at her, not of shock, or even of amusement, she seemed to be studying her very closely. "Sing." With that simple statement, Delilah knew she had her foot back in the door. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and took a shaky breath in as she started with the song that had gotten her to this room in the first place:

_Amazing Grace_

_How sweet the sound_

_That saved a wretch like me_

_I once was lost but now am found_

_Was blind but now I see_

_When we been there ten thousand years _

_Bright shining as the sun_

_We no less days to sing God's praise _

_Then when, when we first begun…_

Her voice was absolutely angelic. Almost eerie in it's beauty. Jazeria knew no one would ever compare to the voice she heard now. As she stared at the young woman before her she transformed before her eyes. Jazeria could see the confidence pour into the young woman as the song continued. With each pitch that she met flawlessly her posture would straighten and her hands would move with the rhythm. It was mesmerizing.

This human was certainly special and Jazeria felt she would match perfectly into her family. But the speech the girl had given was still quite vivid in her mind and she felt if she was going to adopt her, she would need to know everything those words were hiding.

As the song came to an end and the final notes drifted away the room became encased in silence except for a couple of heartbeats. Mathew had begun crying and was busy trying to wipe the tears away before they were noticed. Jazeria softly applauded and gave a brilliant smile. "Wonderful my dear and what is your name?"

As Delilah finished her song she could feel two rather hateful eyes boring into her shoulders and she dared a look at her competitor. Those pretty puppy brown eyes held such contempt it harshly twisted the girls features. Delilah felt a little stab of hurt; so many times she had seen that look from her father.

A soft applause caught her ear and she turned her head toward the sound. The queen, as Delilah had come to view her, was applauding. Certainly that was a good sign and Delilah relaxed a little and gave a shy smile. "Wonderful my dear and what is your name?" The woman's voice was like soft melted chocolate; so warm and rich, completely seductive.

"My name is Lily Eden." Is still felt strange to say her new name, but it helped that her mother had kept it so close to the original. Mathew, her interviewer, had silently begun ushering out the other girl. Did this mean she was hired? They hadn't even given Puppy-Eyes a try.

"No. Your real name." The warm chocolate voice had become hard with authority and the queens Jade eyes bore down on Delilah. The shivers of fear ran wild up and down her spine, she couldn't tell them her real name, and they certainly wouldn't accept her. Delilah began searching her mind for anything she could say to cover it up.

"I wouldn't lie again if I were you. I can hear your heartbeat from here, and it tells me all I need to know." Again the vampire was before Delilah quick as lightning and suddenly she felt cold fingers grabbing her chin. "I will ask you one last time. What is your name?"

It was too late now, Delilah had no other choice, "My name is Delilah Newlin, Delilah Eden Newlin."

Jazeria continued to hold the girls chin. This time the girl hadn't lied, that was her real name. Newlin. That name was so familiar. Why? Suddenly the image of a small and weak human male came to mind preaching of her species' abomination on this planet. This girl was from the Fellowship of the Sun.


End file.
